Moving Forward
by LuxaLovesLawnmowers
Summary: The Promised Day is over, and Amestris is on its way to recovery...except for the one man who paid the price for his vision of the future. Ed visits Mustang and wishes it could've been different. SPOILERS, slight Royai


Disclaimer- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

SPOILERS if you haven't read the end of the manga or watched Brotherhood.

Soooo...I just finished watching Brotherhood (I finished the manga ages ago). I've always felt that Masutang getting his eyesight back was kind of cheap, so I thought I would write a fic about what his life would be like if he hadn't. I don't know how it turned out, but I think its all right.

Enjoy!

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Ed approached the house with trepidation. This was the first time he'd really seen Mustang since the Promised Day, since Mustang had gone blind. Major Armstrong had told him that Mustang had resigned from the military, Hawkeye right behind him, and, using the large pension granted to both of them, bought a house on the outskirts of town. Mustang was officially a consultant to Führer Grumman, and Hawkeye was "unemployed", which Ed knew meant she was behind the scenes, organizing all sorts of things involving the rebuilding of Ishval and the reconstruction of the government.

He started to knock on the door but saw a sign taped to the door that read "Please use doorbell or be ignored". That sounded like Mustang all right, but the handwriting, while blocky, was feminine, and Ed figured it was Hawkeye's.

He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently. A few moments later the door opened, and Ed grinned at the sight of Hawkeye.

"Long time no see," he said cheerily. "How's everything going?"

Hawkeye smiled at him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Busy, but fine. It's nice to see you too, Edward. come in."

The living room was furnished in a theme of navy blue, from the rugs to the sofas. The walls were a lighter color, and the mantel doubled as a fireplace, which had a roaring fire going. Its shadow flickered on the wall, throwing Mustang's figure into a large silhouette.

Mustang was sitting on one of the sofas, a thick blanket wrapped around him. There was an expensive-looking radio on the end table next to him, and it was on at a low volume. When Ed walked in Mustang reached over and shut it off.

"Hello, Edward," said Mustang calmly, using the same arrogant tone he'd always used, back when he was Colonel Roy Mustang and not a useless has-been slowly wasting away (not Edward's words, but ones he'd heard often enough). "Back from traipsing around the countryside?"

"Technically, no. My home is Resembool, not Central."

Ed sat on the chair across from Mustang and examined his former superior's face. He mostly looked the same, although his skin was paler and and there were deep bags under his sightless eyes. Ed cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Got something to say, Fullmetal?"

"That's not my name anymore, _Flame_." he shot back, then immediately regretted it. Damn, he always spoke before he thought. He wouldn't blame Hawkeye, who was standing behind the couch like she was still Mustang's bodyguard, for throwing him out for that one.

Mustang unexpectedly laughed. "Thanks. I knew there was a reason the Rockbell girl kept you around. You're the only one who's been straightforward with me in the past year. I'm obviously very aware that I'm blind, I don't understand why people see the need to try to hide it from me."

Ed relaxed. "Glad to know you haven't changed. What've you been up to?"

"Wracking my brains to find a way to usurp Grumman via miniskirt...no, really, I've been learning this awful way to read that was invented for hopeless invalids like myself. It's rather new. It's called Braille, and it's the biggest pain in my ass since Havoc came to visit me a couple months ago. They have contractions for practically every word in existence. It's like that Xingese alphabet, but instead of ink it's made out of tiny dots of hell..." Mustang sighed, and Hawkeye rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you'd actually put in real effort instead of skimming through it twice a day..."

"You know I'm not much of a reader!" protested Mustang.

"You'd read it if it were porn." muttered Hawkeye.

"That was one time!"

Hawkeye huffed, then seated herself next to Mustang. She leaned onto Mustang's shoulder, shocking Ed. He'd never seen the two show so much affection for each other before, not where anyone could see them.

"We're not in the military anymore," reminded Hawkeye. "There's no rules against it."

Mustang looked incredibly smug, so much so that Ed really want to smack him.

"I don't understand why you'd want to spend so much time with him, Lieutenant...he's such an arrogant bastard..."

"Call me Riza," urged Hawkeye. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Listening isn't his forte," snickered Roy. It was funny because it was true. Ed stuck out his tongue, realized Roy couldn't see it, and made a tongue-sticking-out-of-mouth sound.

"Real mature." replied Roy in a superior tone.

Hawkeye unexpectedly stood up. "I forgot that I had the tea on. Would you excuse me for a moment?" She left, and Ed sat on his twitching hands. This was unbearably awkward.

"I know what you're thinking, Fullmetal."

Ed couldn't help being baited along. "What?"

"You're wondering why such a handsome man like myself would settle for-" Mustang automatically ducked as a large spoon came hurtling their way from the kitchen.

"I'm kidding!" he said loudly, Ed laughing uproariously.

"Can I ask you an honest question, Roy?" It was the first time Ed had ever addressed Mustang that personally, and Roy perked up.

"Yeah, sure, what is it?"

"How bad does it suck? I can't imagine, right when Amestris is recovering, Al has his body back, and everyone's so happy how much it must suck to be the only one suffering."

"I'm not the only one suffering," replied Roy promptly. "The Ishvalans are suffering, the wives and children of the Central soldiers killed in combat with the Briggs men are suffering, the injured soldiers are suffering. Remember, Captain Buccaneer and that Xingese man Fu died, along with Greed and your father. My suffering is incomparable when co-"

"Oh, shut up!" shouted Ed. "I asked_ you_ if it sucked, not if everyone else was in pain. I want to know how _you're_ doing, not the rest of the damn world!"

"Have you ever walked face-first into a door?"

Ed looked away, sheepish. He hoped he wasn't expected to answer that.

Roy continued, unaware of Ed's reaction. "I have. I do pretty much every day, mostly 'cause Olivier Armstrong is constantly making my life hell by rearranging the furniture whenever I visit military HQ, claiming it's practice for when I get my second wind, whatever that means. So, yeah, it sucks. It sucks a lot, not being able to see shit. But I'll live."

Ed smiled. "I'll be right back. Hawke-_Riza's_ been in the kitchen for an awful long time.

Roy yawned and turned the radio back on.

Hawkeye was indeed done with the tea and was chopping vegetables in a scarily efficient manner.

"What's up, Edward?"

"Just wanted to see if I could help you with anything."

"Yes, actually. Could you peel those potatoes?"

Ed latched onto the chore, happy to have an excuse to hold a sharp knife.

""Is it hard?"

Riza shrugged. "Is what hard?"

"Taking care of the Col-_Roy_ like this?"

"It's a little taxing, but he does the best he can. There are just some things he can't do, like cook or do laundry."

"Is that why you're living with him? To help him out?"

"Aren't you inquisitive? I'm not living with him, by the way. I do spend most of my time here, I'll admit. He needs me, but being a stubborn idiot he'll never admit it."

'Must be hard for him to give up being Führer." commented Ed.

Riza smiled sadly. "I don't think he's quite accepted it yet. I think he's hoping that Grumman will somehow want him to take command or his eyesight will miraculously return."

Ed sighed. "He's not my favorite person ever, but it seems like he got the shit end of this new world. He was punished for something he didn't deserve."

"At least he's not moping about it," shrugged Riza. "I can't stand a man who endlessly angsts, and he's done enough of that for a lifetime."

Ed pumped a fist towards the ceiling. "Hell yeah! He's got legs, he should get up and use them!" he said, not caring if that line had long become cliche and overdone.

"And walk into a wall," pointed out Riza dryly. Ed dropped his fist in embarrassment, and Riza laughed.

Ed finished up the potatoes and returned to the living room, where a bored Roy appeared to be aiming sparks at the fire. This was slightly nerve-wracking, as the entire area around the fire was made of wood and flammable rugs. Ed poked Riza and made motions in the direction, but she didn't seem unduly concerned, so Ed took a seat hesitantly.

As it turned out, this was something Roy did often, and he'd become very good at aiming. Ed watched him for a while, until Roy abruptly stopped.

"Cat got your tongue, Fullmetal?"

"N-No."

"Seriously, I swear you're bipolar. Can't you make up your mind. Do you still hate me or what?"

"You're such a bastard."

"Exactly. Being blind doesn't change that."

"I feel like this conversation is going in circles."

"That's life."

"Your face."

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "My face _what_?"

"Your _face_ is going in circles!"

"What an eloquent comeback."

"Your face is an eloquent comeback!"

"I can see where this is going..."

"No you can't!" Again, he felt his face go red, but Mustang didn't seem too offended, so he didn't apologize.

"Oh, that's smooth."

"Yeah, well, so are you!"

"Thank...you? I actually haven't shaved today."

"Your face-"

"Wait, let me guess...my face hasn't shaved today?"

"Oh, shut up."

"For a sixteen year old you're very immature."

"Your-" Fortunately for Ed's sake, he was cut off by Hawkeye, who emerged with tea and soup. Roy thanked her and started eating.

"I should probably go..." said Ed, feeling uncomfortable as he watched Roy eat.

"You're welcome to stay," offered Roy, smiling a little, although he seemed a little reserved. "We're not busy, but there's not much to keep a short..._tempered _young man occupied for long."

Ed curled his hands at the short joke, and glared at Riza for snickering. "Al's visiting Gracia right now, and he'll be over sometime soon. He should be getting back to the hotel soon, though, so I should meet with him."

"That should be fine. I'm not going anywhere."

"See ya, Colonel bastard."

"See you, Fullmetal pipsqueak."

Riza walked him to the door. "Keep safe, Edward. Feel free to visit again."

Edward nodded. "I might come back with Al. I'll make sure to visit any time I'm in Central."

As he left he noticed the well-tended flowerbeds and wondered whether it was Roy or Riza who had planted them. He clenched his fists in anger. The Truth had a lot to answer for.

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Reviews are love! :)


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